Trying to get through dry January, sober October, or just wanting a non-alcoholic beverage, this easy-to-make seltzer water has been a go-to for the team at Keg Outlet for years!
In the realm of DIY beverages, there’s a rising star that’s making waves – hop water. Bursting with the essence of hops but devoid of alcohol, this crisp and aromatic concoction offers a delightful alternative to traditional brews. Whether you’re looking to experiment with new flavors or seeking a non-alcoholic refreshment, homemade hop water is a fantastic option. Let’s dive into the art of crafting your own batch of this flavorful elixir.
What is Hop Water?
Hop water is a simple yet flavorful beverage made from hops, water, and a touch of sweetener or other flavors if desired. Many hops have citrus or fruity flavor profiles that can eliminate the need for other additives, but depending on what you like, skys the limits for making your favorite tasting non-alcoholic hop water! Hop water captures the essence of hops – the same botanicals that lend their distinctive bitterness and aroma to beer – without the alcohol content. The result is a refreshing drink that’s perfect for any occasion, whether you’re relaxing at home or entertaining guests – or in my case, the perfect mid-week substitute for beer!
Hope water is a great alternative to the calorie-rich beers we all like to grab out of the fridge after a long day's work. The crisp flavor and high carbonation make it a great substitute and really helps satisfy your cravings for an ice-cold beer.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Hop Water:
To embark on your hop water-making journey, gather the following ingredients:
- Hops: You can use any variety of hops depending on your preference. Experiment with different kinds to discover your favorite flavor profile.
- Water: Opt for high-quality, reverse osmosis (RO), or filtered water for the best taste.
- Sweetener (Optional): If you prefer a slightly sweeter taste, you can add a sweetener of your choice, such as honey or agave syrup.
- Citric Acid: You can buy citric acid or just use lemon juice to help prolong the life of your beverage. This also helps improve the mouthfeel and crispness of the carbonation in the water.
Equipment Required to Make Hop Water:
Prepare the following equipment before you begin:
- Pot: For boiling the water and hop extract. You can also use fresh hops, to make hop water, we just find this is a much more simple way to achieve similar results with far less mess and straining.
- Keg, Mini-Keg or Soda Bottles: For storing your hop water once it’s ready.
- Funnel (Optional): For easy pouring into bottles.
Step-by-Step Guide to Making Easy Homemade Hop Water Recipe:
Now, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of making hop water. Follow these simple steps:
- Boil the Water: In a small pot, bring 1 Quart of water to a boil.
- Add the hop extract: Once the water reaches a boil, add the hops to the pot. Use around 1 ounce of hops per gallon of water for a flavorful brew.
- Steep the Hops: Turn off the heat and let the hops steep in the hot water for about 10-15 minutes. This allows the hops to infuse their flavor into the water.
- Sweeten/Flavor to Taste (Optional): If you like your beverages on the sweeter side or have a specific flavor, now is the time to add your sweetener and flavor which could come from fresh fruit or extracts.
- Cool and Bottle/Keg: If you are going to put your hop water into a stainless steel keg or growler, you can transfer it into the SS vessel immediately. If you are going to be carbonating in plastic bottles, wait for the water to get down to room temperature before pouring into the bottle. Then add the remaining amount of RO or Filter cold water needed to make the appropriate batch size for your recipe or vessel size.
- Pressurize with CO2: Set your regulator to about 8-10PSI and attach the gas line to the gas-in post on your vessel. If using a keg or mini-keg with a pressure relief valve (PRV) pull the valve a couple of times. This will purge out the oxygen from the keg and replace it with CO2.
Then increase the pressure to about 35-45 psi.
Set your vessel inside the fridge and keep the CO2 connected to it. CO2 can take a couple/few of days to fully carbonate your beverage. Keeping your liquid as cold as possible helps speed up the process as CO2 absorbs better into cold liquids.
- In a rush: If you are trying to carbonate your hop water faster than a couple of days, you can speed up the process, but making sure the liquid is ice cold, and shaking the keg for a few minutes while keeping the CO2 line attached to the keg. This is known as force carbonating and will help force more CO2 into the liquid much quicker than just letting the keg sit there for days under pressure.
- Tips for Customizing Your Hop Water:
- Experiment with Hops: Different hop varieties offer unique flavors and aromas. Explore various options to find the perfect blend for your taste buds.
- Play with Sweeteners: From honey to stevia, there are countless sweeteners you can add to tailor the flavor of your hop water to your liking.
- Infuse with Fruit: For an extra burst of flavor, consider adding slices of citrus fruit or berries to a mesh bag/strainer to your hop water during the steeping process. Using flavored extract can also add a fun twist to your hop water recipe!
In Conclusion:
Crafting homemade hop water is a simple and rewarding endeavor that allows you to savor the essence of hops in a non-alcoholic form. With just a few basic ingredients and minimal equipment, you can whip up a batch of this refreshing beverage to enjoy whenever the mood strikes. Whether you’re a seasoned homebrewer or a curious beverage enthusiast, hop water is sure to become a staple in your repertoire of homemade drinks. Cheers to your newfound skill in the art of hop water crafting!
The Easy Homemade Hop Water Recipe:
This recipe is intended to be a super simple, yet refreshing hop water, with a great hop aroma and flavor. You will not have any bitterness from the hops like you generally get since it uses only hop oil. If you desire a little bitterness you can add some boil some fresh hops, or hop extract. And if you are looking for some more flavor, outside of the natural hop flavors, you can add fruits to your warm water to extract natural fruit flavors or use other flavoring extracts.
Depending on the batch size you are doing this may vary slightly, but this is a good starting point and we will give a couple of the common batch sizes per our kit sizes below:
5 Gallon Batch of Hop Water:
- 10 Drops of Hop Extract
- 4.75 Gallons RO/Filtered Water
- 1 TSP Citric Acid or substitute with lemon juice
Steps:
- Fill your vessel with about 4.5 Gallons of ice-cold RO/filtered water.
- Dissolve your citric acid in 4 cups of warm water. You can do this in a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave, or in a small saucepan on the stove. You do not need to bring it to a boil, just get it hot enough to thoroughly dissolve the citric acid.
- Pour the citric acid water mixture into your vessel.
- Add about 10 drops of hop oil.
- Begin to carbonate. Refer to your specific seltzer kegging kit for general carbonation instructions.
Remember to keep your hop water cold while carbonating. If you can leave hooked up to pressure overnight or for multiple days you will achieve a much higher level of carbonation.
1.5L Batch of Hop Water:
"Why not 2 Liters? I use 2-liter bottles"
When using a 2-liter soda bottle or mini-keg, you still need to make sure you leave a little headspace in the vessel. If it is completely full of liquid, there will not be enough space for the CO2 to enter in and carbonate your water.
- 1 Drop of Hop Oil
- 1.5 Liters RO/Filtered Water
- 1/8 TSP Citric Acid or substitute with lemon juice
Steps:
- Fill your vessel with about 6 cups of ice-cold RO/filtered water.
- Dissolve your citric acid in 1 cup of warm water. You can do this in a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave, or in a small saucepan on the stove. You do not need to bring it to a boil, just get it hot enough to thoroughly dissolve the citric acid.
- Pour the citric acid water mixture into your vessel.
- Add 1-2 drops of hop oil.
- Begin to carbonate. Refer to your home seltzer-making kit for general carbonation instructions.
Remember to keep your hop water cold while carbonating. If you can leave hooked up to pressure overnight or for multiple days you will achieve a much higher level of carbonation.